When people come and go (salamat, Foursome)

I drove home with Michael Buble's "HOME" on the radio some thirty minutes ago. As I parked outside our house, I stayed for a few minutes and stared blankly into space. The silence was deafening, it was rather nostalgic. It is Cookai's birthday, and I could not help but reminisce our fond moments together, most of which, if not all, with our group FOURSOME.

Now as tradition calls, we need to prepare a surprise party for her. Now she's not allowed to read this blog until tomorrow night, or else the surprise will be spoiled. =)

**
Remembering Foursome is like going back to one of the best college memories I had. It was definitely a huge chunk of college I could not live without.

The last time we went out together as a group was seven months ago. It was at Jalapeno's, Metrowalk.

The last time we went out happy, was almost a year ago, Christmas time at Keema, Keema.

Anniversary na pala namin eh. Anniversary ng hindi pagiging okay. I vividly remember how we started not being okay. I was there, and I tried out for the role of hero. A hero to the point where in the middle of finals week, sleepless nights and cups of coffee, I had to travel from Timog to Ortigas at 4 in the morning just to fix a fight over something which all four of us normally agree about... a fucked up movie. Had I known that that fight marked the end of what could be a wonderful friendship, I would not have tired myself too much trying to bring us back together for the past eleven months.

Paano ba nagsimula ang Foursome. History class, LISTEN UP!

Nagsimula ito sa Wednesday group composed of Me, Mac, Cookai, Chandra and Dana. Nabuo ang grupo na ito habang nagshooshoot ng documentary for Thailand kung saan kagrupo ko si Cookai.

Hindi kami close ni Cookai at Dana noon, pero magkasama kaming tatlo sa isang grupo para sa DCATCH. nagkataon na ang docu namin ay tungkol sa Marikina, at si Chandra at Mac ay taga Marikina. Right after noong shoot namin, nagdecide kaming uminom sa Gerry's Grill. Nagbonding, natuwa sa bagong mukhang nakilala, at eventually, naging regular na ang paglabas namin tuwing sasapit ang Wednesday. Inom, kain, tambay, kahot ano, basta wednesday. Kung bakit kami naging Wednesday Group, hindi ko alam.

Si Mac ay may bestfriend na si Miko. Medyo malakas ang pagbubuild-up ni Mac kay Miko sa grupo, na umabot sa point na naisip namin na, bakit hindi natin siya isali? Nagkataon naman na nung pumasok si Miko sa eksena, eh medyo napapadalas ang pag-absent ni Dana tuwing wednesday dahil sa kabilang barkada niya na nagtatampo sa kanya.

Akala namin, phase lang ito, hanggang sa nasanay kami na wala si Dana, at nandyan si Miko. Dito nabuo ang isang powerhouse na grupo. Nagkaroon kami ng adventure sa hacienda nina Miko one time, inuman, lasingan, hanggang sa umabot sa puntong nagkalabasan na ng mga sama ng loob dahil sa kalasingan. Eventually, nawala si Mac dahil sa dalawang rason. Una, dahil nagtatampo na din ang isa niyang barkada dahil mas madalas na siya sa amin sumasama. At pangalawa, dahil may mga unresolved issues sa aming lima na hindi namin mahanapan ng sagot.

Dito na pinanganak ang Foursome. Mula noon, hindi na kami mapaghiwalay na apat. Ito ang mga pinagdaanan namin:

discovering Ristras

Ang pagtulong namin sa binahany bahay ni Cookai sa Bulacan.

Ang aming first time sa fazolis.

nung sumubok kami ng ibang inasal.

ang paglilinis sa bhay ng tita ni Chands na tinamaan ng Ondoy

ang basketball game na sinuportahan namin si Miko

ang madalas na overnight sa Corinthians

and hating kapatid dinner sa Chilis

ang chat sessions namin all the way from Japan

ang surprise namin ni Miko kay Chandra

Ang BV dinner sa High Street na nauwi sa best nights ng grupo

Ang memorable na Keema Keema

Ang Mac ni Miko

At finally, ang huling gabi namin bilang isang grupo.

Ngayon siguro marahil ay pagod na ako. Maaring pagod, maaring kontento na na wala sila, maaring mas matured dahil ngayon, finally tinanggap ko na. College barkada nga lang talaga siguro kami.

Maraming salamat Foursome. 

Salamat Cookai dahil sa puso na binigay mo sa grupo. 

Salamat Chandra sa saya na hatid mo sa grupo.

Salamat Miko sa mga aral at payo mo sa grupo.

Salamat sa inyong tatlo, kahit papaano, naniwala ako sa friendship, na totoo palang may ganito.

Magkikita din tayo sa future, pero sa ngayon, isara natin ng maayos ang kabanatang ito. Paalam Foursome, minahal ko kayo. ='(

The Noel Bazaar and Christmas Expo

For the past six days, I've devoted my time and effort to this annual holiday bazaar, the Noel Bazaar at the World Trade Center. The planning was really the hardest, all brains and no assurance of what's about to come up until the day the bazaar opens. We really did not know what to expect, are Manilenyos going to enjoy our food? Is it too pricey? Too cheap?

Preprod came and luckily, I was with my good friend Reynard who helped every step of the way. While I was in charge of the posters, shirt designs, flyers, he was in charge of the food traffic and the booth design. Though I thought we could have avoided the few arguments and conflict of ideas, I think we did a pretty amazing job. People were amazed at how this young generation could be. Reynard and I set up the booth all by ourselves, the preparation, the lighting fixtures, the document/papers, everything, that is alongside our real office works. They said that we have the makings of successful entrepreneurs. I now begin to consider a real IIBB franchise in the Metro.

Last night, mom and I were talking, an she was serious about considering me to open a branch in Manila. Now I'm thinking about it. We'll see how the next three weeks will go, for the meantime, let's do our best with what we have!

A big thank you to my friends who stopped by and supported!

• Bij
• Joselle
• Frans
• Munch
• Cookai
• Chandra
• Aikee

Photoblog ahead!

Here's my mom's calling card. Franchise anyone? ahah! wag muna!

The shurt design I made, see the shirts we're wearing? I designed them. (designer pala!) ahahh! Layout lang. 

Reynard, my sister Bea and Ate May (the Binalot master). Thanks guys!

Day 2 at the Bazaar, Green Shirts! =) Kagulo!

We're eyeing this next event. You think we should come?

Mom's million-dollar smile. Tired from another day's work.

The posters, menu boards, flyers I made. Thanks Deme, such a big help you. heehee

Haven't visited? Fret no more. We are open on the following dates:

Dec 3 to 16 WORLD FESTIVAL BAZAAR (ABS CBN) Opens 10am to 10pm on weekdays. And 10am to 12mn on weekend (fridays included)

And the Noel Bazaar will resume on December 18 to 23. Bazaar opens at 10am to 9pm on weekdays. ANd midnight bazaar on weekends.

Christmas rush is done best at the World Trade Center! Yay! Happy holidays everyone!

Selling a P500 job

The bazaar's picked up really well for the past six weeks. People's response were overwhelming and all praises. So really, I'm seeing great potential in our business, and frankly, I'm beginning to like it.

Natatakot lang siguro ako sa fact na maaring make or break ang pagtatayo ng negosyo dito sa Manila. Pwedeng gusto kami ng mga tao sa bazaar, pero sa real world, hindi na masyado.

Last taping namin sa HT, hindi ako umattend dahil busy ako sa bazaar. Ngayon, naisip kong i-give up ang aking tech P.A. position dahil frankly, ito ang kumakain ng oras ko sa buong linggo. Ang pagiging Supervising Editor ko naman ay once a week lang, yun nga lang, puyatan. Pero every Sunday lang naman ito. Kumbaga, pwedeng part-time. Pero ang Tech P.A., mga tatlong araw na stress at sermon sa loob ng isang linggo.

 P500 lang ang sweldo ko sa Tech P.A., barya compared to the normal compensation na nakukuha ko sa pagiging S.E. na (part deleted). Hindi ko na maalala kung pano napunta sa ganitong setup ang lahat ng bagay, basta one day, ganito na lang.

Compared sa trabaho ng iba na petiks na, no-brainer pa, at halos pareho na kami ng kinikita, feeling ko, lugi ako. Buti na lang at binibigyan pa din ako ni Lord ng reasons to hold on sa trabaho.

Ngayon, ang dilemma ko eh kung saan ako pupulot ng taong willing magtrabaho sa halagang P500. 3 days a week, at 60% stress during taping. Ngayon ko lang narealize na talaga palang charity work itong ginagawa ko bilang tech P.A., kasi kahit ako, hindi ko maimagine ang ibang tao na gagawa nito. And frankly, nahihiya akong i-alok itong posisyon sa ibang  tao, dahil hindi siya reasonable. Sad.

Pero dahil napaka-ganda naman ng trato ng buhay sa akin so far, at hindi naman ako nasesermonan so far, at malaki ang kinita ng bazaar namin so far, at may taong umiinspire sa akin so far, at masaya ang mommy ko so far, so farang tatanggapin ko muna pansamantala ang mga dagdag-isipin na ito.

GV photo of the week, ang dumog-tao na bazaar namin sa World Trade Center!

Kagulo moments sa IIBB booth

Salamat kay Chef reynard at Pareng BJ for stopping by and lending a hand! 

Watch out for our upcoming booth at the World Bazaar Festival at the World Trade Center. Bigger. Bolder. Better.
Bazaar runs from Dec. 3 to 16. Bazaar opens at 10am and ends at 12mn. Don't miss it!

My mom

A day without electricity, and she had to iron my sister's clothes for hospital duty.

Mom took an old-broken flat iron, placed it on top of the stove, and started ironing.

This photo tells so much of my mom. Warm, hardworking, intelligent, and a delight in countless ways.

I love you, ma!